Rolling mill guide



Oct. 25, 1949. D. McLEoD ETAL ROLLING MILL GUIDE 2 Sheets-sheet 1 Filed Jan. 26, 1945 -lll i457 R H maM/M MD@ m www L .v 4 C S( MWL Wm Oct. 25, 1949. D. McLEoD ETAL.

` ROLLING MILL GUIDE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2V Filed Jan. 26. 1945 /4 IN VEN T ORS.

Patented Oct. 25, 19549 ROLLING MILL GUmE Don McLeod, Parma, and Donald 0. Norris, Rocky River, Ohio, assignors to The American Steel and Wire Company ot New Jersey, a corporation of New Jersey Application January 26, 1945, Serial No. 574,773 Claims.- (Cl. 80-51) This invention relates to a rolling mill guide, more particularly to a guide for strip entering a rolling mill. Y

The invention has as one of its objects the pro- Y "vision of a rolling mill guide for insuring the accurate guiding of strip into the mill.

A futher object of the invention is the provision of such guide having means positively holding it in the desired position and yet allowing adjustment of the same relative to the mill pass as required. y

These and further objects will be apparent in the following description. A

The rolling mill guide of the present invention is particularly useful in the rolling of strip material to special shapes of very accurate contour. Whereas the guide is useful in guiding strips into a mill for such operations as merely reducing its gauge, it displays particular advantages where special shapes are rolled and the entering strip must be positioned very accurately with respect to the lateral dimensions of the mill pass. The invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a view in cross section of a typical product `rolled from strip guided into the mill by the device of the present invention;

the guide be capable of adjustment laterally to correct any lack of alignment between the guide and the roll pass. Prior ar-t guiding devices have been found deficient in these details and their' use has resulted in the lack of the desired -ace curacy and uniformity of the product.

. of .040 inch plus or minus .005. It can readily be` Figure 2 is a view in side elevation of a mill stand with the strip guide device affixed thereto;

Figure 3 is a view in end elevation of the mill shown in Figure 2, the guide device being shown in section taken along the line III-III of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is aview in plan of the strip guiding element of the guide device;

Figure 5 is a view in side elevation of such guiding element;

Figure 6 is a view in cross/ section ofthe guiding element, the section being taken along the line VI-VI of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a plan View of the guiding device attached to the table on the entering side of the mm;,

Figure 8 is a view in cross section taken along the line VIII-VIII of Figure 7; and

Figure 9 is a view in cross section taken along the line IX-IX in Figure 7.

In the rolling of special shapes from strip material, it is frequently necessary that the rolled shape have` dimensions lying within very close tolerances. Because of this, it isimperative that the strip entering the rolling mill shall be guided into the pass with extreme accuracy, particularly in the lateral direction. It is also necessaryv that 56 character I6 and the clamping drag indicated by to give a pass of a cross section corresponding to As an example which is merely typical of prod' cold rolled strip 2 of metal, for example steel, to be used in the making of address plates. The rolled' strip to be used in the making of one type of address plate must be held to very close tolerances as to dimensions; for making one representative size of address plate the rolled strip must have a total thickness, indicated by reference character a, of .013 inch to .016 inch, a thickness b of the side portions of reduced gauge of .008 inch plus or minus .00005, a width c of the center thicker portion of 1.215 inches plus or minus .002, a total width d ol? 1.295 inches plus or minus .010 inch, and edges of reduced thickness having a width e seen, with such requirements in view, that not only must the entering strip, which in this instance is of rectangular cross section, have its length and width lying within very close tolerances, but such strip must enter the roll pass,

between dimensions a and b of the strip in Figure 1, and of `a width equal to dimension c of such strip. The lower roll 8 of the mill has a working surface of a plain cylindrical contour. It is -to be understood that the strip may be produced by rolls having other coniigurations which cooperate thecross section of the strip 2. Mill 4 is provided with a conventional screw-down mechanism I0 operated by the adjusting handwheels I2, and with a vertically adjustable guide table I4 on the entering side thereof to support the guiding device indicated generally by the reference 2,4ee,aio

the reference character I8. Strip material, preferably in the form of long coils, is supplied to the mill at normal or cold working temperatures and travels through the clamping drag I8, guide 'device I6, and the working pass between rolls 6 and 8. Upon issuance from a mill., the strip is received by a. receiving means, preferably a reeling device, not shown.

The strip guiding element I6, which is shown more fully in Figures 4, 5, and 6, consists of an elongated top guide portion and a generally similar bottom guide portion 22 held tightly together in parallel relationship by means such as cap screws 24 projecting through the top portion and screwed into the bottom portion. Parts 20 and 22 are provided at the rear ends thereof with shoulders 26, which extend upwardly and downwardly as shown, for engagement with the rear clamping mechanism for the strip guiding element. The forward ends of portions 20 and 22 of the guiding element are tapered or rounded, both laterally and vertically, as shown at 25 and 25', respectively, enable positioning the guide element close to the bite of the working rolls. In the guiding element shown, the strip receiving slot 28 is formed entirely in the upper portion 20 and the upper face of the bottom elements 22 is made plain. It is to be understood, however, that the strip receiving slot may, if desired, be formed partly in the top element and partly in the bottom element of the guiding element. Slot 28 is made of such dimensions as to embrace the entering strip very accurately over all or substantially all of its bottom, top, and top and side surfaces. the relatively long extent of travel of the strip through slot 28 in the guide guiding element, the entering strip is caused to travel very accurately along a predetermined path.

As shown in Figures 7 and 8, the rear of the guiding element is secured to guide table I4 by means of the rear clamping device 38, which consists of a frame 32 secured to the table I4 by bolts 33 cooperating with a T-slot in the table top, frame 32 having a centrally located aperture to receive the guiding element accurately therein. The guiding element is retained in frame 32 by means of cap 34 secured to the frame by bolts 36. Such structure insures the accurate position of the rear end of the guiding element vertically of the roll pass and horizontally thereof.

The forward end of the guiding element is secured to table I4 by a clamping means designated generally at 38, and shown in Figures 7 and 9.` Such clamping means consists of a base plate 40 secured to the top surface of the table I4 by bolts 42, side plates 44 secured to the base plate as by welding, and a top plate 46 secured to the side plates, as shown. The guiding element is located vertically with respect to the base plate 40 by means of spacers or shim devices 48 which may be made of wood, such spacers being slightly tapered in a direction parallel to the guiding element to allow at least a small adjustment of the front end of the guiding element relative to the rear end thereof and to allow the spacers to be tightened by being driven into position. The forward end of the guiding element is positioned laterally by means of vertical spacer elements or plate fillers 50 as shown in Figure 9, the llers being of such thickness with respect to the width of the guiding element and the dimensions between the inner faces of the side plates 44 as to allow some looseness between them, the guiding element and side plates 44. Such looseness is Because of such accuracy of fit and vided with a complementary taper.

4means for holding the guiding element 4 taken up, and sulcient lateral adjustment of the guiding element for the purpose in hand is attained, by the adjusting .screws 52 having handles 54, such screws being threaded through holes in thetop plate 46 in such position that their axes at least substantially coincide with an interface between the spacing elements 50. The bottom ends of screws 52 are tapered, as shown at 56, and the upper inner edges of spacers 50, at least in the position where they are engaged by the lower ends of screws 52, are pro- Such edges may be beveled throughout the entire length, or, if desired, conical surfaces may be formed on such edges only at positions where they are engaged by the lower ends of the adjusting screws.

It can be readily seen that the front clamping means for the guiding element allows such element to be clamped firmly and accurately, yet provides a delicate means for the lateral adjustment thereof. Such adjustment is accomplished by slightly loosening the screws 52 on the side toward which it is desired to move the front end of the guiding element, and by tightening the screws on the other side, thereby spreading the separator plates 50 on that side, shifting the front end of the guiding element, and again clamping it tightly.

Whereas the guiding device of the present invention has been illustrated in connection with the making of a particular product in a mill stand having a particular pass contour, it is to be understood that it displays advantages wherever strip material must be fed accurately to a mill. Having thus` fully described the invention, we desire to claim as new the following. "i

We claim:

l. A guide for conducting strip into a rolling mill which comprises an elongated strip guiding element, said guiding element having a passageway longitudinally therethrough, said passageway having top, bottom, and side guiding surfaces closely conforming to the cross-section of the strip passing therethrough, a support on the entering side of the mill roll stand for said guiding element, and means fixed to the support to clamp the guiding element thereto, said last named means comprising means at least partially embracing the guiding element to hold it against movement in a direction toward and away from the support, said last named means comprising m clamped adjusted lateral position.

2. A guide for conducting strip into a rolling mill which comprises an elongated strip guiding element, said guiding element having a passageway longitudinally therethrough, said passageway having top, bottom, and side guiding surfaces closely conforming to the cross-section of the strip passing therethrough. a support on the entering side of the mill roll stand for said guiding element, and means xed to the support to clamp the guiding element thereto. said last named means comprising a clamp frame having a top and sides embracing the top and sides of the guiding elementy a spacer means between the guiding element and the support and between the guiding element and the clamp frame top, at least two longitudinal spacer elements between the guiding element and each side of the clamp frame, adjusting screws threaded through the clamp top frame on either side of the guiding element, the axes of said screws coinciding with the boundary planes of two of the spacer elements of each side of the guiding element, said two spacer elements of each side of the guiding element having tapered upper confronting edges cooperating with the tapered ends of the adjusting screws.

3. A guide for conducting strip into a rolling mill which comprises an elongated strip guiding element, said guiding element having a passageway longitudinally therethrough, said passageway having top, bottom, and side guiding 4surfaces closely conforming to the cross-section of the strip passing therethrough, a support on the entering side of the mill roll stand for said guiding element, and means fixed to the support to clamp the guiding element thereto, said last named means comprising means at least partially embracing the guiding element at the rear thereof to hold it from movement in a direction toward and away from the support and in a forward direction, and means at least partially embracing the guiding element near the forward end thereof to hold it against movement in a direction toward and away from the support, said last named means comprising means for holding the guiding element in clamped adjusted lateral position.

'4. A guide for conducting strip into a rolling mill which comprises an elongated strip guiding 6 to the cross-section of the strip passing therethrough, said guiding element having shoulders at the rear thereof, a support 'on the entering side of the mill roll stand for said guiding element, and means fixed to the support to clamp the guiding element thereto, said last named means comprising a rst clamping means at least partially embracing the guiding element at the rear thereof, the shoulders on the guidingelement engaging the rear of the said rst clamping means to hold the guiding element from movement in a forward direction, and a secondclamping means fixed to the support near the forward end of the guiding element to hold it against movement in a direction towardv and away from the support, said second clamping means comprising a clamp frame having a top and sides embracing the top and sides of the guiding element, a spacer means element, said guiding element having a passageway longitudinally therethrough, said passageway having guiding surfaces closely conforming to the cross-section of the strip passing therethrough, said guiding element having shoulders at the rear thereof, a support on the entering side of the mill roll stand for said guiding element, and means fixed to the support to clamp the guiding element thereto, said last named means comprising means at least partially embracing the guiding element at the rear thereof, the shoulders on the guiding element engaging the rear of the clamping means to hold the guiding element from movement in a forward direction, and clamping means xed to the support near the forward end of the guiding element to hold it against movement in a direction toward and away from the support, said last named means comprising a clamp frame having a top and sides embracing the top and sides of the guiding element, and means to adjust the guiding element laterally between the sides of the frame.

5. A guide for conducting strip into a rolling mill which comprises an elongated strip guiding element, said guiding element having a passageway longitudinally therethrough, said passageway having guiding surfaces closely conforming between the guiding element and the support and between the guiding element and the clamp frame top, at least two longitudinal spacer elements between the guiding element and each side of the clamp frame, adjusting screws threaded through the clamp top frame on either side of the guiding element, the axes of said screws coinciding with the boundary planes of two of the spacer elements of each side of the guiding element, said two spacer elements of each side of the guiding element having tapered upper confronting edges cooperating with the tapered ends of the adjusting screws.

DON McLEOD.

DONALD O. NORRIS.

' REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

